HealthCare Personnel in India

The number of registered Doctors in India has increased from 61,800 in 1951 to 6,45,825 in 2005, which translates to 0.61 Doctors for every 1000 people. To give a comparative analysis, Cuba has 5.91 Doctors for every 1000 people in 2002.India has 5.9 Doctors, 0.8 Nurses and 0.47 Mid-Wives for 1,000 people which add up to 1.86 Health workers for 1,000 people. As per the Joint Learning Initiative launched by Rockefeller Foundation, on an average, countries with less than 2.5 Health Care workers fail to achieve 80% coverage rate. According to Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MOFHW) “Health Information India”, 2004, we had 67, 576 Doctors; which translates to 1 Doctor for 15, 980 people.The Government’s estimated requirement of specialized surgeons, obstetricians, gynecologists, physicians and pediatricians in 2001 for Community Health Centers in rural areas is 12, 172, but only 6, 617 posts were sanctioned and only 4, 124 positions were filled.

There are 122 Private Medical Collages and 119 Government Medical Colleges in India.

As per CNN-IBN Lives article published on 30 August 2007, there is 1 Doctor for every 2,200 people.

According to an Escorts Heart Institute research document prepared in 2005, it is estimated that India would need 1,00,000 qualified nurses and 5,00,000 Doctors by 2012.

There are close to 8000 Hospitals in India with a total of 6,00,000 beds, which translates to only 7 beds for every 10,000 population.